The present invention relates to wheels for skateboards in general. More specifically to a wheel cover that is disposed within a cavity in a wheel for decorative purposes.
Previously, many types of wheels that include a decorative design around their side wall have been used in endeavoring to increase the cosmetic qualities of the wheel. The usual approach of prior art is to incorporate the design into the wheel itself which accomplishes the purpose however none have presented a detachable wheel cover rim that may be replaced or substituted.
A search of the prior art did not disclose any patents that possess the novelty of the instant invention, however the following U.S. patents are considered related:
Pozzobon in U.S. Pat. No. 5,825,634 teaches a skateboard or roller-skate wheel that has a central hub with radial spokes and a tire which is connected to the hub. The hub has wings arranged in the interspace and are arranged to partially fill the spaces such that empty spaces are arranged directly adjacent to the spokes. The wings have a different rigidity than the outer portion of the tire.
Burton""s U.S. Pat. No. 4,218,098 is for a hub of a skate wheel supported on an axle with bearings. The hub is flanged and has a tongue and groove connection with the tire to hold the tire in place and to distribute the stresses therebetween. The tire is removable and supported on the hub for replacement. Some embodiments have three bearings to support the hub on the wheel spindle.
Caplin in U.S. Pat. No. 4,962,968 discloses a skateboard hubcap which enhances the appearance of the skateboard by concealing the axle nut and bearings. The hubcap comprises a shield that is held in place with detents on the inner flat surfaces of a cylindrical extension to secure the hubcap in place. A spacer behind the nut assures adequate clearance for the detents to lock into the axle nut.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,128,254 issued to Powell is for skateboard wheels that have a circular cylindrical tread surface where the axially inner edge and the axially outer edge of the cylindrical tread surface have a radius of from one eight to one half of an inch. The presence of this radius at both the inner and outer edge of the tread surface allows the skateboard to safely negotiate turns and uneven surfaces.
Amelioin U.S. Pat. No. 3,992,025 discloses a skateboard wheel that has a roller body consisting of a solid piece of resilient plastic formed with cooling bores passing therethrough. At one end region, the roller body is formed with an enlarged recess with which the cooling bores communicate. In this recess the roller body has reinforcing fins integral with the roller body situated in places which contain the axis of the roller body and distributed about this axis.
Labeda in U.S. Pat. No. 3,860,293 teaches a skate wheel that has a rim or tire made of wood and a metallic hub where the outer races of ball bearings are mounted. The metallic hub has a cylindrical outer surface with axially aligned grooves and edges formed at one end and circumferential grooves axially spaced and an internal taper at the other end. Epoxy glue is applied onto the hub and into the tire and press fitted into the wood tire. When the glue is set the wheel is turned to assure roundness and is then balanced.
Design Pat. No. Des. 398,692 issued to Wilson et al. is for a skateboard wheel with treads.
Design Pat. No. Des. 398,691 of Bromley is for a wheel hub having cut-out sections positioned in a repetitive arrangement.
Design Pat. No. Des. 355,464 issued to Wilson et al. illustrates a skateboard wheel and tire with treads on the tire and spokes between the hub and tire.
Skateboards have been popular for decades and have attracted interest to all ages particularly the younger generations. As time goes by the skateboards have become more sophisticated and improved from a technical aspect. Basically a skateboard is simply a board or platform on which a person stands while rollers underneath support the platform permitting the board to travel holding the operators weight while being propelled by pushing off with one foot and leaving the other on the board. As such skateboards form a source of considerable pride and pleasure to the user while at the same time being a device for a sporting activity which requires considerable physical skill and agility. The art of skateboard riding has been so popular that physical facilities have been developed in some parts of this country called skateboard parks which include such structure as ramps, rails, pools, pyramids, grinding curbs etc. It may be clearly seen that there is an abundant amount of pride in the appearance of the skateboard and therefore it is a primary object of the invention to add a wheel cover rim to each skateboard wheel. Automobile wheels have the same attraction and many cars on the road today have wheels or at least wheel covers that are not standard original equipment but instead have been added by the owner of the vehicle for the single purpose of enhancing its appearance. By adding a wheel cover to conventional skateboard wheels the entire skateboard takes on an entirely different look that is distinct from that of the original manufacturer.
An important object of the invention is the fact that skateboard wheels are easily replaced by simply removing the nut attached to the axle and manually dislodging the wheel including the bearings. A substitute wheel containing the wheel cover may then readily replace the standard wheel by reversing the procedure.
Another object of the invention is that each skateboard may be personalized easily by replacing the wheels which permits an individual to select the type of style that best suits his or her character as a myriad of styles shapes, colors and textures are obtainable.
Still another object of the invention permits a variety of wheel covers to be selected and changed even after the original wheel has been purchased and in use. This interchangeability is important as wheels wear out and styles change allowing new designs to be produced. Individual wheel covers may also be changed without replacing the entire wheel in the configurations that utilize threaded fasteners etc. for attachment purposes.
Yet another object of the invention permits the use of optional back-up plates of various colors and finishes to be positioned between the wheel cover rim and the wheel being visible through the spokes or holes in the cover rim creating an entirely different overall appearance by the use of relatively inexpensive material. Further exotic finishes such as infractionary gratings that change color in the light at various angles of view and metallic colors add to the possible combinations available.
These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the subsequent detailed description of the preferred embodiment and the appended claims taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.